Police power in Northern Ireland has been questioned since The Troubles, with issues of jurisdiction
still prominent today. To explore this, I examined a case involving journalists Barry McCaffrey and
Trevor Birney, who faced backlash from the PSNI after producing a documentary on the 1994
Loughinisland Massacre. In August 2018, they were arrested on suspicion of stealing an unredacted
police ombudsman report. After challenging the legality of the search warrants, they won a judicial
review in the Belfast High Court in June 2019, with the chief judge invalidating the warrants and
rebuking the police. I met with Mr. McCaffrey to discuss the impact of the PSNI’s actions on him and
his colleague, and the role he has played in protecting journalism in the future and criticising police
coercion.
Following my interview with Mr McCaffrey he made it abundantly clear that his life was clearly
affected by the actions of the PSNI following the 31st of August 2018. He was released after a 13-hour
period of questioning and containment in a holding cell the following morning. He then highlighted
over the following 2 years his fight against the PSNI’s claims, alongside his partner as they ventured
across the world, all while under police bail. This forced them to notify the PSNI whenever they left
their personal jurisdictions. However, they campaigned across the world, with the supports of
amnesty international, and over a year later the chief court justice ruled the actions of the PSNI
unlawful. However, their story was not over as still to this current day they are fighting against the
PSNI for infringement on their personal protection rights as journalists. Therefore, only recently have
they seen an end to their case in The Investigatory Powers Tribunal, in which they are fighting to see
the PSNI reprimanded for overstepping their right to monitor conversation and technology. A
decision is yet to be made.
I then asked him how it had affected his career. He highlighted how it affected him as an individual,
and how it affected his career in journalism. He outlined how the case was about the community of
journalism fighting against the intrusion of investigatory services, and they were just the catalysts. He
praised the support around him to take advantage of supposed police surveillance, granting them
the opportunity. As a result, they discovered that the PSNI were spying on over 800 individuals who
were supposedly protected, yet he believes that the numbers will continue to grow as the
investigation continues.
Lastly, I questioned if it had affected his trust with the PSNI. He outlined that he holds a respectful
relationship with the police. He understands that those who invaded his home were only working
under orders and therefore he couldn’t hold any spite against them. However, those who sent out
the warrants, he believes were trying to make an example of him. They would scare investigative
journalists across the UK with their swift and ill managed arrests and searches of him and his
partners homes. He finished by highlighting the role of the media to scrutinise social services and the
extent of their control. He alongside Mr McBurney have flipped the investigation on its head and in
turn have brought a major social issue forwards, defending themselves, those in their line of
employment and the public from the threat still looming in the shape of the PSNI.
- Cathal McConnellhttps://underscoremedia.co.uk/author/cathal_mcconnell/
